


breaking slowly

by Nerdbirb



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Nightmares, chloe being an ass, cuddling?, on accident though, other max - Freeform, tw just to be safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 11:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18737833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdbirb/pseuds/Nerdbirb
Summary: max has nightmares and chloe comforts her





	breaking slowly

"You couldn't protect her."

The words chip away at Max's heart, every syllable driving a knife into her already deteriorating sanity. Her eyes burn from the stinging rain and sleet as she attempts to stare down her mirror.

"N-no, I saved her!" She barely chokes out the sentence, the words caught in her throat halfway through. "You're wrong, she's alive! She's okay!" Max cries, her voice cracking.

"Is she really?" The other Max begins to move towards her, seemingly unaffected by the cyclone whipping around them. "Are you sure? You're so stuck in your own messed up head that you don't even know, do you?"  
Max crumples, her knees hitting the ground with a muddy squelch.

"You're wrong," she repeats, gasping for air as she begins to hyperventilate. "She- she's fine, I know she is."

The other Max bends down in front of her, an unsettling sneer on her freckled face. "Sure she is, shaka brah."

"No, no, she's okay," she babbles, almost incoherent, not even sure if her words are accurate at this point. Maybe they aren't, and she's lost in her own mind, desperately searching for a truth that never existed.

The other Max just smirks from above her, the realization that she has finally broken herself initiating a joyous look on her mirrored features. "You know," she says, leaning closer to the sobbing mess that is, technically, herself. She opens her mouth as if she is going to speak but is suddenly cut off by a voice jolting Max out of her nightmare

"-it's okay, I'm here, I-" Chloe quickly stops talking when she realizes finally Max has woken up and is staring at her with wide blue eyes. When she hears Max give a quiet whimper she loosens her vice-like grip on the smaller girl's wrists but didn't move her hands. "Max?"

It takes all of two seconds for the flood gates to break open and for tears to start spilling. As soon as Chloe lifts her hands Max encases her in crushing hug, sobbing into her t-shirt.

"Jesus, Max. I'm not going to disappear." Chloe says, trying to get her to calm down. She quickly realizes that was the wrong thing to say when Max does nothing but clutch her tighter. Instead of continuing to talk, she quickly shuts her mouth and holds Max as she breaks. The heaving sobs begin to quiet, slowly turning into harsh sounding coughs until Max speaks.

"She keeps on telling me that you're not real." Chloe doesn't say anything at this and just holds Max tighter. "She called me shaka brah," Max says, with a bitter laugh that quickly turns into a sputtering cough, adding some mucus to match the tears Chloe's shirt. "I don't know what's real or fake at this point, I j-I just can't anymore. Every single time I try to relax or forget or sleep or even live she's there, just-just trying to break me."

Chloe opens her mouth as if to reassure her girlfriend but hurriedly snaps her mouth shut when she speaks again, her voice barely a whisper. "Sometimes it just feels like you're going to leave me. " Chloe stiffens at this, pulling Max closer. "Or maybe you were never there in the first place," she says, her voice small.

When she thinks that Max has finished, Chloe releases Max and turns to face her. She cups the freckled girl's face in her hands, calloused fingers wiping tears from pale skin. Chloe casts her gaze away for a moment before staring into Max's eyes. "You are not broken, Max. You are- you are strong, and we've been through so much shit together that I'm kind of confused on how you haven't picked up on the fact that I am never leaving you."

Max smiles through her tears, reaching up and setting her hand on Chloe's wrist. "C-"

"Hold on Max," Chloe says, determined to get her point across. "You went through some hella serious crap Max, like- legit traumatic experiences. You need to know that I'm here, always." She punctuates this with a kiss to her forehead.

Max gives her a weak smile and then asks, quietly. "Can I speak now?" She says, waiting for Chloe to nod at her. "I know we just had a serious talk, but I kinda have to use the bathroom."

The mood shifts as Chloe directs a blank look toward Max but releases her, jokingly groaning about how her profound and moving speech was wasted. As she does, Max walks into the bathroom of their small Seattle apartment. When she comes back out, Chloe raises her arms, whining about how hugs are the only acceptable form of payment for her kind words.

"Oh Max, you're my only hope," she cries dramatically, grinning when Max drops into her embrace, easily falling into the role of the little spoon. She snuggles into Chloe's frontside as she places her hands on top of the ones loosely hugging her stomach. "I hope you washed your hands," Chloe says, grinning when she earns a heel to her shin.

They stay like that for a moment, Chloe's nose buried in Max's short brown hair and her breath tickling her neck before Max whispers quietly. "I love you."

Chloe grips her tighter and smiles into her neck before speaking. "I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, my first fic in this fandom so please be kind!


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